Safety fluid collector

ABSTRACT

A safety body fluid collector keeps a needle, held by a needle holder, in place frictionally with the use of an elastomeric O-ring. After use, the body fluid collector is inverted and placed over a discard container. Downward pressure on finger grips on the collector causes a tube of a disposal member, attached to the lid of the container, to press against the O-ring, unseating the O-ring and freeing the needle holder with the needle from the frictional hold of the O-ring. The needle holder and needle then drop into the discard container and when the discard container is full, it is discarded.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

This invention relates generally to body fluid collectors and morespecifically to a body fluid collector with a needle which can be safelyand expeditiously removed for disposal.

In general, a basic problem exists in the handling of used needles bymedical personnel to ensure that they are not inadvertently stuck orscratched by the needles. This can result in the transmission of virusesand other diseases.

One type of device has two coaxial tubes, one of which controls themovement of the needle with two sharpened ends. The needle is located inthe center of the tubes. The control tube can be moved forward to itsfirst position which extends the front end of the needle for use. Theneedle is frictionally held in position against a retracting springforce.

A vial is inserted into the open end of the tube and the rear end of theneedle punctures a rubber-like diaphragm over the vial. The blood samplethen flows into the vial through suction and when the vial is full, itis removed. Further motion of the control tube to a second positionreleases the frictional hold on the needle and the spring moves theneedle back to its shielded position. A third position of the controltube locks the needle in that position. This device is complicated tomanufacture and use and has, therefore, a relatively high cost.

Another commonly used type of safety fluid sampling device comprises anopen-ended cylindrical member with one end threaded, a double-endedneedle with a holder which can be screwed into the cylindrical threadsand a separate container for used needles. Both ends of the needles arecapped for protection prior to use. The rear end of the needle isuncapped and the needle assembly is screwed into the cylinder. The frontend cap is then removed and an evacuation vial is inserted, filled andthen removed. Several vials may then be filled.

A covered container is used to dispose of a plurality of used needles.Once a needle enters the disposal container, it is not easily withdrawn.In one design, the container cover has a shaped opening which grips theneedle holder. Rotation of the cylinder unscrews the needle assemblywhich then drops into the container. This removal procedure has adisadvantage of requiring two hands and the needle must be stored whilethe medical technician is attending to the patient. Thus, there arechances for needle sticks and scratches and for reuse of the needle.

To obviate these problems, some container covers are equipped with amechanism which grips and rotates the needle to unscrew it and thenopens to allow the needle to drop into the container. Thus, thetechnician can dispose of the needle with one hand while still attendingto the patient. Care must be used to operate the mechanism properly.When the container is full, a used needle may interfere with those inthe container and the mechanism may jam or not operate properly.Moreover, there is no way the technician can tell whether the containeris full. The need for threaded parts and a container mechanism arerelatively costly.

In view of the foregoing, there is a need for a safety body fluidcollector which is inexpensive, easy to manufacture and assemble andwhich assures safe and expeditious discarding of used needles andprevents reuse.

OBJECTS OF THE INVENTION

Accordingly, it is the general object of the instant invention toprovide a safety body fluid collector which improves upon and overcomesthe shortcomings of present devices.

It is a further object of the instant invention to provide a safety bodyfluid collector with a simple mechanism for releasing the needle holderwith its needle from the collector for safe disposal.

It is yet a further object of the instant invention to provide a safetybody fluid collector which allows for quick and efficient needledisposal after use with one hand, while the medical person or technicianattends to the needs of the patient.

It is still yet a further object of the instant invention to provide asafety body fluid collector with a discard container which can store theneedles in such a fashion that they cannot be removed prior to disposal.

It is another object of the instant invention to provide a safety bodyfluid collector which is inexpensive and simpler to manufacture,assemble and use than existing devices.

It is yet another object of the instant invention to provide a safetyfluid collector for which used needles are separated from the remainderof the collector as they are disposed of.

It is still another object of the instant invention to provide a safetyfluid collector which allows for disposal of used needles using onehand.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

These and other objects of the instant invention are achieved byproviding a safety body fluid collector with a discard container for thesafe and efficient disposal of, and prevention of reuse of, usedneedles. The collector comprises a cylinder in which is placed a needleholder with a double-ended needle, upon which a bushing is slidinglyfit. Prior to use, the front end of the needle and the rear end of theneedle are capped. The needle is held in place frictionally by anelastomeric O-ring located between the inner wall of the cylinder andthe outer surface of the needle holder. After use, the collector isplaced over a tube extending from the lid of a discard container and thecylinder is pressed down by finger grips. This forces the O-ring out ofits seat on the needle holder and onto the bushing. The needle holder,with its needle, is thereby released into the container. The disposaltube is transparent, allowing the medical technician or other personnelto determine when the container is full, so that it can be capped anddisposed of.

DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Other objects and many of the intended advantages of this invention willbe readily appreciated when the same becomes better understood byreference to the following detailed description, when considered inconnection with the accompanying drawings, wherein:

FIG. 1 is a side view, in section, of the body fluid collector of theinstant invention;

FIG. 1A is an end view of the O-ring;

FIG. 1B is a sectional view of the O-ring taken along the line 1--1 ofFIG. 1A;

FIG. 2 is a side view in section of the body fluid collector in placeatop the discard container prior to disposal of the needle;

FIG. 3 is a side view of the disposal container; and

FIG. 3A is view of the container taken along the line 2--2 of FIG. 3.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT

Referring now in greater detail to the various figures of the drawings,wherein like reference characters refer to the parts, there is shown inFIG. 1 the body fluid collector 2 of the instant invention. The bodyfluid collector 2 comprises a double-ended needle 4 placed within aneedle holder 6, which is positioned in a cylinder 8. The needle holder4 has one sharp end 9 and a second sharp end 10, covered by caps 12 and16, respectively. The collector 2 also comprises a bushing 20, which isslidingly fitted over the needle holder 6.

A sheath 18, comprising a rubber or rubber-like membrane, covers theneedle end 10. The cylinder 8 comprises a cylindrical section 28, atapered section 30 and an end section 32. An elastomeric O-ring 22 ispositioned against the inner surface of the end section 32 and the outersurface of the needle holder 6. It is held in place by friction and ispositioned during assembly against a ridge 24 on the outer surface ofthe needle holder 6. The end section 32 has a lip 34 which abuts aprojecting section 36 of the bushing 20. The cylinder 8 also comprisesfinger grips 26 at its open end.

FIG. 1A shows an end view of the O-ring 22. As can be seen in FIG. 1B,the O-ring is square in cross section with slightly rounded outercorners 38.

The O-ring cross-section is made square to prevent rolling of the ringwhen it is moved out of position as will be explained later. Also, aswill be explained later, the square cross section results in anincreased frictional force to better hold the needle in position. Theslight rounding of the corners of the O-ring assists in seating theO-ring during assembly of the body fluid collector 2.

The discard container 102 is shown in FIGS. 2 and 3. It comprises a bodysection 104, a lid 106 and a transparent disposal member 108 having alarge diameter tube 112 and a coaxial, smaller diameter tube 116. Thelid 106 has a circular lip 114 to which the large diameter tube 112 isattached. The tube 112 has a top portion 118 which is connected to thetube 116. The tube 116 also comprises an extending section 120 which isin contact with the O-ring 22 during needle disposal. The dispsal memberalso comprises a cap 110 to close the discard container 102 when it isnot in use.

For needle disposal, when the body fluid collector 2 is inverted andplaced over the tube 112, so that the finger grips 26 are adjacent tothe lid 106, and downward pressure is placed on the finger grips 26,upward pressure against the O-ring 22 is applied, sliding the O-ringfrom its position on the needle holder 6 to a position on the bushing 20outer surface and releasing the frictional hold on the needle holder 6.This frees the needle holder 6 causing the needle holder 6 with theneedle 4 to slide from the bushing and drop into the discard container102.

As can be seen in FIG. 3, a label 122 is placed on the discard container102 providing a notice for the medical personnel disposing of needles.This instructs the person that the disposal tube must be empty and ifnot to call the supervisor. Further, after use, the medical person is tocheck that the needle has dropped to the disposal tube. And, finally,the medical person is instructed to snap on the safety cap after theneedle has been deposited in the discard container.

A body fluid collector system has been described which allows for thesafe and effective disposal of used needles and prevents reuse of usedneedles. The safety caps 12 and 16 are first removed from both ends ofthe needle 4. The distal end 9 of the needle is injected into thepatient and a vial is placed through the opening in the cylinder downupon the needle end 10. This pierces the sheath 18 and fluids then flowinto the vial because of the vacuum within the vial and the suctioncreated thereby. After use, the vial is removed and the body fluidcollector 2 is inverted with the finger grip 26 down and placed over thedisposal tube 108. Further downward pressure on the finger grip 26 willcause the protruding section 120 of the inner wall 116 to press againstthe O-ring 22 to dislodge it from its seat. This releases the frictionalhold of the O-ring against the needle holder 6 and the needle 4 andneedle holder 6 is then free to drop into the discard container 102.

The use of the device is quite simple. The medical technician may use asmany vials as required to collect as much body fluid as required. Afteruse, the needle can be disposed of as described above, through the useof one hand by the medical technician, while the other hand is free toadminister to the patient. Thus, the system prevents the reuse ofneedles and provides means for discard of a plurality of needles by useof the discard container.

The O-ring is made of an elastomeric material in order to provide a highcoefficient of friction and to allow wide tolerances on the matinginside and outside diameters while closely controlling the inducedradial pressure. The square section provides a large contact surface,which allows a large friction force for a given pressure. It alsoprevents rolling of the O-ring when large axial forces are applied tothe needle in use.

Without further elaboration, the foregoing will so fully illustrate theinvention, that others may, by applying current or future knowledge,readily adapt the same for use under the various conditions of service.

I claim:
 1. A body fluid collector system comprising:(a) a needle holder with a needle; (b) a cylinder; (c) an O-ring seated within said cylinder and in contact with said needle holder to frictionally hold said needle holder, with said needle, in place when the fluid is extracted from the body; (d) a bushing slidingly fitted onto said needle holder; (e) means for releasing the frictional hold on said needle holder by said O-ring; and (f) a discard container for temporary storage of, and disposal of used needles.
 2. The body fluid collector system of claim 1 wherein said needle comprises a first end for injection into the body and second end upon which a collecting vial is emplaced and wherein said body fluid collector system further comprises a removable first cap placed over said first end and a removable second cap placed over said second end for safety in transporting, storing and handling of said body fluid collector prior to use.
 3. The body fluid collector system of claim 2 further comprising a sheath positioned over said second end.
 4. The body fluid collector system of claim 3 wherein said needle holder further comprises a ridge against which said O-ring is seated.
 5. The body fluid collector of claim 4 wherein said O-ring comprises aa elastomeric material and has a substantially square cross section with rounded outer corners.
 6. The body fluid collector system of claim 5 wherein said cylinder comprises an end section with an end lip and said bushing comprises a protuberance which is in contact with said end lip.
 7. The body fluid collector system of claim 6 wherein said cylinder comprises finger grips for the application of finger pressure to release said needle from said O-ring.
 8. The body fluid collector system of claim 1 wherein said container comprises a body section, a lid, with an opening therein and a transparent disposal member positioned on said lid over said opening.
 9. The body fluid collector system of claim 8 wherein said disposal member comprises a large diameter tube and a smaller diameter tube which projects past said large diameter tube, so that when said body fluid collector is placed over said disposal member and finger pressure is applied to said finger grips, said smaller diameter tube presses against said O-ring, dislodging said O-ring from its seat and onto said bushing and freeing said needle holder and needle to fall through said opening into said container.
 10. The body fluid collector system of claim 9 wherein said disposal tube further comprises a cap for covering said disposal member when said container is full or when needles are not being discarded.
 11. The body fluid collector system of claim 8 wherein said needle comprises a first end for injection into the body and second end upon which a collecting tube is emplaced and wherein said body fluid container system further comprises a removable first cap placed over said first end and a removable second cap placed over said second end for safety in transporting, storing and handling of said body fluid collector prior to use.
 12. The body fluid collector system of claim 11 further comprising a collapsible sheath positioned over said second end.
 13. The body fluid collector system of claim 12 wherein said needle holder further comprises a ridge against which said O-ring is seated.
 14. The body fluid collector of claim 13 wherein said O-ring comprises an elastomeric material and has a substantially square cross section with rounded outer corners.
 15. The body fluid collector system of claim 1 wherein said cylinder comprises an end section with an end lip and said bushing comprises a protuberance which is in contact with said end lip.
 16. The body fluid collector of claim 15 wherein said cylinder comprises finger grips for the application of finger pressure to release said needle from said O-ring.
 17. A body fluid collector comprising:(a) a needle; (b) a needle holder holding said needle; (c) a cylinder, (d) an O-ring set within said cylinder and in contact with said needle holder to frictionally hold said needle holder, with said needle, in place when the fluid is extracted from the body; (e) means for releasing the frictional hold by said needle holder by said O-ring. 